


A Town Without Pity

by SoundandColor



Category: Total Recall (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brainwashing, Dubious Consent, F/M, Mild Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-13 21:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11193855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoundandColor/pseuds/SoundandColor
Summary: Youarehome





	A Town Without Pity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hecate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hecate/gifts).



 

 

She had another name, but now she’s Lori Quaid.

 

She’s in his— _their_ —bed, in this shitty little apartment on the wrong side of the planet. Her new _Home Sweet Home_. It’s only the second time she’s ever met the man rolling her onto her stomach and groaning against the side of her neck, but he’s known her his entire life. _Childhood sweethearts_ , they’d said. Each other’s first everything. _How sweet_. She’s too well trained to tense in his arms, doesn’t fight to get on top, doesn’t sink her teeth into his forearm until she tastes blood. She curls into him, pulls him closer, spreads out, opens up, arches her back, moans sweetly into her pillow. He seems like the type who would like that. She needs to be someone he’ll like.

 

Doug’s palm slips down her abdomen and she takes a breath, makes herself sink into it. She’s not faltering because she feels badly for what she’s about to do—she’s done honeypot jobs before and if they’ve taught her anything, it’s how to fake an orgasm if need be. That’s not an issue. She doesn’t care about his feelings either. She has absolutely zero interest in the intrinsic rightness or wrongness of any aspect of her job or anything else. Morality took a backseat the moment the world fell apart and she decided to work for the government. It went straight out the window when Chancellor Cohaagen came to power and rescued them all from starvation and worse.

 

No, the world is teetering on the brink and principles are something they can no longer afford to have. This is a war and her pussy is a weapon as deadly as her gun. She doesn’t see any difference between using either to neutralize a threat.

 

She won’t let it be any different this time just because…

 

His lips are soft against her, then there’s an edge of teeth and she loses her thought, catches her breath. She pushes back into the cradle of his hips and feels him smile as he pulls her closer.

 

“ _Lori_.”

 

She closes her eyes.

 

\---

 

The first time she met Doug, he was still Hauser.

 

 _The_ hotshot senior agent of the United Federation of Britain and Cohaagen’s most treasured pet.  She was graduating from the academy, 27 years old and ready to get out there. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older—the story was that he’d been headhunted during his last year of secondary school—but he was quite a bit further along in his career.  He stepped in front of her and handed her the degree, they snapped a quick photo and he moved on to the next person in line.

 

She remembers his handshake, mostly. Strong, but not overpowering, his palm was dry, he held her eyes without the trace of a smile.  He looks different now. Still dark haired and dark eyed, but maybe a decade younger. He’s wearing a hospital gown, his face is bloody and he’s shackled to a bed in the med bay. She can’t take her eyes off the holo-screen as Cohaagen briefs her. Hauser has been handing over secrets. He’s trying to sabotage the war. Hauser’s a _traitor._ She almost doesn’t believe him, but he wouldn’t be telling her this just to keep her informed. He’s got a role in mind for her and she has a pretty good idea of what that role is. “Babysitting duty?” His jaw ticks and she smiles a little too sharply. “Why aren’t we just putting a bullet in his head?”

 

His eyes go flat. “Because that’s my decision to make, not yours.”

 

There’s an edge to his voice she doesn’t like, and she sits back in her chair. Cohaagen’s the only person in this world who has the power to make her think twice. “So instead you want to take me out of the field to watch over some asshole?”

 

“He’s not ‘some asshole’. This man,” he leans forward, “is one of our highest level operatives to infiltrate the resistance—”

 

“He’s turned! What good is he to us if he can’t be trusted? Just get whatever information you can and wash your hands of him.”

 

“He’s capable of giving us more than a few low levels and sites to bomb. No one else has been able to get half as close to the leaders of the resistance as he did. When we turn him back, we’ll send him over to the colonies. They’ll come together to welcome their savior and he’ll wipe them out. No information gathering, no deep cover, just scorched earth.”

 

“And if we can’t get him back on our side?”

 

“We can, but we can’t rush it.”

 

She knows then, what he wants, and she rolls her eyes. “You want him to have something soft to keep him occupied in the meantime?”

 

Cohaagen shakes his head, and she recognizes the signs of disappointment around his eyes. “If that’s all we needed, I wouldn’t have tapped you for the job. It’s…” he sighs. “It’s more complicated.” When she doesn’t react, he goes on. “You’re not going to be his welcome home gift. You’re going to be his wife. He’ll get new memories, a new name, a new face, and you’ll be our eyes and ears while we help him to remember his true purpose.”

 

She blinks back surprise. “You’re hiding him in plain sight in case any of them try to find him. Until we’ve got him back.”

 

Cohaagen shrugs and even though she’s not excited about the idea of a long term operation, she can’t help but grin at his logic. Everything, every puzzle piece—herself included—fits neatly into place.

 

“It shouldn’t be any longer than six months, a year, tops. You’ll keep your eyes on him and while we help him remember who he is, you’ll help him want to stay. He’s shown a willingness to be swayed by a beautiful woman and he’s the very best we’ve got.” She tenses at his dig and the chancellor smiles wider. “Help bring him back to us.”

 

\---

 

She wakes up as soon as he stumbles into the room, but doesn’t immediately stand. They’re still not exactly sure what he’s capable of remembering while he’s in one of these states and it would be just her luck that he’d keep the image of his wife rolling out of bed and kicking his legs out from under him. So Lori stays put. Quietly watches him walk in circles, push at the windows, scratch at the walls, gasp for breath. The doctors said this might happen. That Hauser’s mind would fight against the imprint they gave him.  That in these moments, he would probably feel like there was something fundamentally wrong with his existence. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. That he, for all intents and purposes, was pretty much going insane right before her eyes.

 

She lets him, but only for a moment longer. Lori sighs, then levers herself up onto her elbows and starts the exchange that will reinforce the personality and ground him. “Where are you going?”

 

He stops pulling at his hair and turns toward her like one of their drones. Like he’s just another thing that needs to be programmed. He is.

 

Doug meets her eyes. “Home.”

 

She takes a breath—a year, _tops_ , she thinks _._ Just a few months longer—and lowers her head to go back to sleep. “You are home.”

 

\---

 

For their anniversary, she wants to take him to the ocean.

 

The water in the colonies is foul. A murky, undrinkable sludge you’d need a submarine to go into. The Federation isn’t much better off, but Cohaagen made sure a few of the beaches topside were swimmable. The wealthy and powerful received passes, a lucky few others won them in yearly lotteries. In order for a citizen of the colonies to get to one, they would need specific signatures from their bosses, security clearances and two references from a UFB citizen vouching for their character. She tells him that she saved up for weeks to get them black-market credentials. In reality, she strode into the UFB offices early one Monday morning and went to someone she may have considered a friend once upon a time. Well, as much of a friend as Lori’s ever allowed herself to have in this place.

 

Carla Tempe is short and brunette. Even in training, she was better with the in-house side of things than she was on the street, and after graduation, they saw less and less of one another. They hadn’t spoken in over a year when Lori called, but Carla’s the only person she would ever consider asking for something so personal. Everyone knows she was sent out on a long term operation. Carla is one of the few who’s aware that it’s a domestic—she doesn’t know who Doug really is, no one knows that except for her and Cohaagen. Her last night of freedom, the two of them had a drink together at a bar down the street from the office. She ordered whiskey, Carla got something pink and fruity, teased her about her upcoming assignment as they toasted to the Federation.

 

Today, Carla’s smile is brittle around the edges as she hands over a thick white envelope. She doesn't tease Lori about anything anymore. “It’s good to see you.”

 

“You, too.” They stand awkwardly for a moment before Lori thanks her again and walks away.

 

She pulls out their passes once she gets home and finds that they’ll be celebrating their four-year anniversary this time next week on beautiful United Zone 3 beach.

 

\---

 

They’re making dinner and she’s about to burn the food.

 

“You used to be able to cook,” he says laughing, nearly running to pull the last of their rationed chicken off the stove and shooing her to the salad. He looks over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed with uncertainty. “I remember you being able to cook.”

 

Lori shrugs and smiles. When she first realized Cohaagen had the scientists drop that little tidbit into Doug’s brain, she’d laughed. Years on, the joke wasn’t so funny anymore. “I just have a lot on my mind with everything going on...” She lets him fill in the blanks and his face smooths out in compassion. He sets the pan down and pulls her into a hug.

 

“Everything’s going to be fine. No matter how bad it is, it always works itself out.”

 

He’s speaking nonsense, she knows that better than most, but she nods anyway because it feels nice. Being comforted by someone. By him. After five years as his wife—she refuses to overanalyze enjoying a bit of a cuddle. In this moment, she can admit that to herself if she can never say it out loud.

 

When she was about to start this operation, they sent her to a therapist. He told her this would happen. That the longer she pretended to be Lori, the more she would actually become her.

 

She knows what this is, but knowing the why of a feeling doesn’t make it less real.

 

They stand there quietly, his hand running up and down her spine, when he blurts, “Let’s have a baby,” and just like that, the warmth inside of her is gone. He’s brought this up before—three weeks after she was placed with him, a year and a half ago—and her answer has always been the same.

 

Lori moves away from him, her first instinct, before she remembers, and smooths it into a search for silverware, to set the table. “Not yet.”

 

“Why?”

 

In the UFB, if you’re one of the 45% of the population that wasn’t made or born infertile due to the chemical wars, there are steps one must take in order to carry a legal pregnancy to term.  Palms to be greased, papers signed, authorizations to procure. There are no such barriers in the colonies. Here, you’re free to pop out as many kiddos as you can handle.

 

“All we do is work, Doug, and we still have no money. We wouldn’t even be able to raise it. We’d spend all the money we earned paying someone else to.”

 

“Well.” He looks a little sheepish. “I’ve been budgeting.”

 

“Budgeting?” She asks, incredulous. Tapping her foot against the linoleum.

 

“Yeah.” He pulls the pot off the stove, goes to the couch and pulls some papers out of a bag. “We’d have to put in extra shifts, of course. I think I could probably pick some part time work up, too and in about two years, if we’re really careful, we should be able to get a two-bedroom further out from the city center.” He must realize how quiet she is because he sets the papers down and studies her. “Do you have any other reasons why not?” He’s worrying the side of his middle finger with the nail of his thumb. “Besides – besides money, I mean?”

 

This is something he wants, _really_ wants, and she could risk the operation by putting him off too sternly. She has to choose what she does next carefully. Wonders, not for the first time, if this assignment has been a punishment. If she slighted Cohaagen in some way she can’t remember. She hopes, before these next two years are up, he forgives her.

 

Lori smiles and moves to stand in front of Doug. “Two years, huh?” He nods and she kisses him soundly until they’re both breathless. “I think I’ll be able to wrap my head around a baby by then.”

 

He smiles so wide at that she almost feels sorry for him.

 

\---

 

Her phone is ringing.

 

It startles her and she stares down at her palm dumbly for a beat. No one has contacted her for months now; whatever this is, it won’t be good news. She walks to the bathroom, presses her hand against the mirror, and a blonde woman she doesn’t know appears on the holo-screen.

 

“Your asset has been compromised.”

 

This day has always been in the back of her mind. Honestly, she’s surprised it’s taken this long for him to remember. Even still, she’s not prepared for the clench of fear in her belly at hearing those words.

 

“What happened?”

 

“He went to a Total Recall center and it triggered some of his memories. We’re not sure exactly how much he remembers, but we expect he’ll be trying to make his way back to you. You know the protocol, Agent?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Do you feel able to complete your orders?”

 

Lori blinks. “Excuse me?”

 

“Do you feel capable of completing your orders?”

 

“When have I ever needed anyone to ask me that?”

 

“This isn’t a normal situation. You’ve been assigned to him for years. It wouldn’t be—” she can practically hear the woman searching for a word that isn’t synonymous with treason— “ _abnormal_ for you to feel conflicting emotions about the news.”

 

“Are we going to have a session?” Lori asks, angry. “You want me to spill my guts before shooting him?”

 

“I need you to verbally acknowledge your competency before I can clear you with your superiors.” The woman lets the threat sit before asking again. “Do you feel able to complete your orders?”

 

“Yes,” Lori growls through clenched teeth before ending the call and walking back into the living room. She crosses the floor and opens a secret panel she hasn’t touched in over a year, pulls out two guns, makes sure they’re both loaded.

 

\---

 

They wanted to give her a medal for what she did.

 

The woman who loved her country too much to let her terrorist husband destroy it. They wrote articles, offered her interview slots on morning shows. Lori turned them all down and simply disappeared. She appreciated the nation's gratitude, but only wanted to be left alone. What wife would want to be called a hero for killing her husband?

 

\---

 

In the UFB central building, there’s a hidden elevator that goes to a secret floor two levels below the basement. She’s only just been given access, but the guards already know her.  When she punches a specific code into the wall and walks into the lab, Cohaagen is waiting.

 

“You found her? Melina?”

 

He nods. “She wouldn’t talk at first, but they all do. Sooner or later.”

 

“She gave her father up?”

 

“We have his coordinates.”

 

This is it, she thinks, and she can barely contain her smile. Everything they’ve worked for, everything she’s sacrificed the last five years of her life to achieve is just within her grasp.  The man on the other side of the observation window begins to thrash in his bed, and she leaves Cohaagen to stand at his side.

 

She was going to kill him that night.

 

After the massacre at Recall, it would've been cleaner. Then he walked through the door and... He became the second person in the world capable of making her think twice. Instead, she hit Doug with the tranquilizer. The hardest part had been keeping him hidden long enough to find someone who could pass for the face flashing across every screen in the colonies. The people would never accept that the terrorist was actually dead if she didn’t offer up a body for them to gawk at. That part ended up taking only a bit more effort than tranqing Doug. All she needed was someone with the right height, the right build and dark hair. A well placed bullet would conceal the rest. She spotted the perfect guy cutting through the alley two blocks behind their apartment. The poor bastard never saw it coming.

 

When she’d returned to the UFB offices afterward, Cohaagen _asked_ if she wanted to continue the assignment and—after what she deemed an appropriate amount of time to think it over—she agreed. There’s a few more things they need to know. More people her husband can help them remove. She still needs time to see this thing through—still needs _him_ —and so Doug has a new face now. A new name.

 

And soon, so will Lori.

 

He's still struggling against his bonds when she asks a familiar question. “Where are you going?”

 

He stops kicking, stops struggling to get away and turns blindly in her direction at the sound of her voice. “Home.”

 

Faced with the decision of whether he wanted to play his part or break out, Hauser choose freedom. He grabbed Melina by the hand and set off to try and shape a new world. Now Melina's half dead in a cell somewhere and Hauser can't remember his own name. That's what revolution got you. Broken bones and implanted memories. In her eyes, loyalty is all someone can ever really give another person. The only pledge that might make a damn bit of difference in their lives. Cohaagen and the UFB earned hers years ago. This man, during their time together, has earned some of her allegiance as well. It's why she maneuvers her body slightly to the left, blocking Cohaagen's sight line. It's why she wraps her pinky finger around his just below the side of the bed, where the guards monitoring the camera in the corner won't see. There aren't many people she'd put herself on the line for and now he's one of them. She'll keep saving him from himself, whether he likes it or not.

 

“You _are_ home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for all the beta help [AuKestrel](http://archiveofourown.org/users/AuKestrel/pseuds/AuKestrel) and [raininshadows](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raininshadows/pseuds/raininshadows)!


End file.
